History of Heironeous/Chapter 12
When Heironeous saw the smoke, and knew that it was the smoke of the army that he had come to face, he did straightway order his army to advance from the ruin of the city, that they did not camp nor rest, but marched straightway unto the south, until they came upon a rocky ridge in the desert. #And when they were come upon the ridge, they gazed down upon the army of the enemy, and saw that it was great, yea, in number two tens of thousands of men, armed and armoured for war, and they had encircled another city, and were laying siege to it. #And great engines of war had they brought up, which threw great stones against the walls of the city, and the sound of the stones was as the rumble of thunders. #And when the army of Heironeous saw the number and the equipment of the enemy, their hearts did quail, for they were outnumbered, yea, for every soldier of Heironeous there were eighteen score of the enemy, armed and armoured for war. #But when the army of Heironeous gazed upon him, they saw that he was not afraid, neither did his heart quail within him, and the sight of Heironeous gave strength unto his army, that they didst straighten their backs and prepare for the battle. #And Heironeous called together his fifty and five, and shewed them his plan for the battle. #And Heironeous spake unto them, saying, It is not meet that we should charge down this slope, for behold, the enemy possesseth many bows and arrows, and it is not meet that we should be slaughtered like sheep because of foolishness. #Behold, the report of mine scouts, and when he said this, the sons of Gither the halfling came forward, and spake unto the army, saying, #We have gone out of this camp as Heironeous commanded us, and have gone privily up unto the camp of the enemy, and have uncovered the disposition of the enemy, yea, we know the places that they guard and the places that are unprotected, and we know their strong places and their weak ones, and the words which allow their friends to enter unchallenged. #Behold, this army is led by one they call the Scourge of Battle, and they fear his wrath more than death itself, for he is as a giant, and hath six arms, and wieldeth a great weapon in each, the better to slay any that would oppose him. #And one of the fifty and five, that was an bowman, spake unto the sons of Gither, saying, Art thou afraid of this man, that requireth six weapons to do what Heironeous can do with one? And the army laughed at these words, for the sons of Gither were small like children, though they fought like lions. #And the sons of Gither replied, Nay, we fear him not, for our lord is mightier than he, yea, and his army fights for him because they fear him, but we fight for Heironeous because we love him. #And when Heironeous heard this, his heart did melt within him, for the love of his men, for he knew that their courage and valour were the greatest of all the world, yet they would not preserve their lives in the battle to come. #And the sons of Gither spoke further, saying, We have found a place, of old a riverbed, whereby we might gain entry to the camp of the enemy with our armour and our weapons, and what army can stand before the army of Heironeous with their armour and their weapons in the center of their own camp? Category:History of Heironeous